Clint Eastwood, who is directing the biopic of J. Edgar Hoover, revealed to The Vulture some casting news on the controversial film:
"Clint Eastwood's Hoover is quickly heating up at Warner Bros., where Vulture hears that Joaquin Phoenix is said to be the director's top choice to play J. Edgar Hoover's reputed paramour and protégé, Clyde Tolson. (Exactly the kind of praiseworthy part we said Phoenix needed to up his standing in Hollywood's star market.) For those unfamiliar with Tolson and Hoover, they really were the original 'Ambiguously Gay Duo': As the associate director of the FBI from 1947 to 1972, Tolson was in daily close contact with Hoover at the office, but even more interesting, the pair also dined, socialized in night clubs, and even vacationed together."
Vulture adds: "Hoover explores the two men’s complicated relationship; neither man ever admitted to being gay, and Hoover was known for hunting down and intimidating those who dared questioned his sexual preference while he was alive. But Hoover’s actions in death seem to suggest they were more than simply pals in life: When Hoover died, Tolson was not only the beneficiary of Hoover’s life-insurance policy, he also inherited Hoover's estate and moved into his house. At Hoover’s funeral, he accepted the U.S. flag draped over Hoover's coffin, and today, Tolson's grave is a few yards from Hoover's in the Congressional Cemetery."
I'm really hoping Dustin Lance Black's (Milk) script goes deep into the tug-of-war men on those days faced when questioning their sexuality, because a strong script will enforce debate among those after they've seen the movie. It wasn't and still isn't easy to be a gay man in power, especially when you have the Christian right condemning you on one side, and openly gay people condemning you for not owning your gayness to the degree they want you to for the sake of having an ally. This is a movie I will definitely want to check out and hope Hollywood doesn't shy away from the hot button issues because theiy're afraid it won't make the same amount of money as an Avatar. I also hope once it's done the film will find a distributor faster than "I Love You Phillip Morrison," the long-awaited gay film starring Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor.
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